Tag Archives: HISTORY

Waste Lake Progress

17 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, water history

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

The downtown consultants for the dredging of the waste lake at Montebello had underestimated the amount of material that could be possibly dredged from our waste lake – so they asked if it would be alright to remove the phragmites. A big OK to that.

Back in July I posted an aerial of the lake filled with sludge. This view shows most removed. The phrags were attached to the outfall structure and the contractor cut by hand. (At end of catwalk, lower center of lake). At lower right of lake more sludge accumulated due to a polymer added to belt presses, dumping back into this area.

Barge and excavator removing phragmites. The one shore is completed. Would be nice to have enough budgeted money to remove growth along shoreline.

Within one month the phragmites have grown a couple feet around outfall. Because the growth mat is attached to the structure, pulling away the growth will damage the wall. This outfall leads directly to Herring Run and we can not have this water going there.

What the waste lake by the outfall structure use to look like. Those houses are long gone.

Another view of the lake from years past. This is looking towards the NW corner where the surge pipe from Loch Raven is located. It was nice and clear of growth, inside and out. Those houses are also gone.

The waste lake shoreline was so clear that kids would come in and sail their model boats. This is looking towards the outfall structure.

Fullerton from the Susquehanna

12 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, engineering, water history

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

In my previous post I talked about the Fullerton Filtration Plant and the problems with it becoming a reality. Below are some photographs from the pre-planning stages of the Fullerton Plant. 1964 – when engineers were still able to look ahead and plan for the future.

389-d

Contractors moving the Fullerton connection into place.

396-d

Connecting the ‘Y’ branch to the Susquehanna pipe line. The Susquehanna pipe line was known as the “Big Inch” being 108 inches in diameter. This connection dropped it down to 96 inches. The metal mesh is for pouring concrete around the pipe line to hold it in place.

406-d1

Capping off the end for future contractors to be able to connect the Fullerton Plant, if and when…

444-d

Just up the road is the Big Gunpowder Falls (Loch Raven and Prettyboy dams are on this river, way upstream). The Big Inch went under the Falls at this point. To the left is Interstate 95, back then known as the North-East Expressway.

Fullerton WTP or Show Me The Money

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, POLITICS, Reservoir, water history

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I was asked last week about a new filtration plant to be built at Fullerton, Baltimore County. Here is what I found:

1955 – Dr. John C. Geyer, Consultant for Baltimore City, and Mr. Jerome B. Wolff, Consultant for Baltimore County Metropolitan District, having concluded their study of the entire distribution system submitted their report on July 1, 1955. According to the Fullerton Reservoir Study Preliminary Design Report of 2000, the 1955 Geyer-Wolff Report recommended purchasing a tract of land in the Fullerton area – which the City of Baltimore did purchase – for the future construction of a water treatment facility, a water storage reservoir, and a water pumping station.
1962 – On November 23, the sinking of shafts for the Fullerton Tunnel began. Both shafts were completed but no Fullerton Tunnel had been driven to date. (Project, Section #6 Susquehanna conduit) Tunnel completed for Fullerton in 1963.
1993 – Design of the Fullerton Pumping Station. PS completed in 1999
1997 – Design for Fullerton Reservoir
1999 – The design of the reservoir would be based on receiving 120 MGD from the future filtration plant. The study showed that the system could not support a 160 MGD reservoir. The reservoir was to be designed to elevation 226. The design proposed two reservoirs to be built, each with baffles. The reservoirs would have separate influent and effluent chlorination provided. As of December, 1999, the study was 75% completed. (Same report info in 2003)
2006 – A two year study began on May 2006. Approval was given to construct a pilot plant to test the operation of the membrane technology.
2007 – Reason contract on-hold is due to financial constraints caused by the artificial 9% rate cap; studies on the construction of the Fullerton Filtration Plant; continuation of the hypochlorite conversion project; and, the federal requirement to cover finished water reservoirs.
2008 – The draft of the Project Development Report for Fullerton, dated May 2008, was submitted for review and returned with comments. There were 4 alternatives in the review. As of October no method has been selected from the alternatives selected. Due to the economy at the time, the cost for each of these alternatives was in excess of $400M. The study had been extended to March 28, 2009. The cost proposal, received on June 23, was not accepted. The cost allocations to all concerned is still being worked on.
2009 – The Fullerton Filtration Plant construction had been delayed until 2017. If this project is ever resurrected, a new consultant agreement will need to be executed.
2010 – The contract for designing the facility could not be advertised until the cost allocation had been agreed upon.
2011 – The contract for designing the facility (Treatment Plant) could not be advertised until the cost allocation had been agreed upon. Also this year, repairs to the Montebello filters were initiated – “The filters were needed to be kept in service for another decade until the Fullerton Facility had been built and the new Montebello Facility was released for construction.” (New Montebello Filters never happened – Band-Aid after Band-Aid)
2012 – Fullerton Water Filtration Study: The contract for designing the facility could not be advertised until the cost allocation had been agreed upon. The Fullerton construction had been delayed originally until 2017. The Fullerton Reservoir would need to be constructed first. The design contract was expected to be released for bid in 2013 under the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, with a design completion date set for 2016. Construction was expected to begin in 2017 and was to be completed by 2021.
2014 – The Office of Environmental Compliance and Laboratory Services began gathering information in preparation of the contracts’ future pending design release. In 5-years the DPW of Baltimore expected the Fullerton Filtration Plant to be built and online thus clearing the path to fully renovate one of the two Plants at Montebello and shutting down operation of the second Montebello Plant.

Readers Digest version: The 100 year old Montebello Filters keeps being patched up while the City and Counties fight over who is going to pay what, for a new filter treatment plant at Fullerton. Status of Fullerton – it will be built, sometime in the future.

Dams

02 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Photography, Reservoir

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Back in the beginning of September, I posted some photographs of my visit into Liberty Dam. The watershed manager, Clark, took me down to the bottom. It was quite an experience for me. Before leaving I made the comment that the Conowingo Dam will be my next adventure, to go inside. A couple weeks later, Clark sends me an email telling me that a group he belongs to, the Upper Western Shore Tributary Team, are going into Conowingo. That I should contact them and ask if I can go. A couple days later they sent me a yes answer. Very nice. So, here are some of the dams I’ve gone into. Not listed yet is Loch Raven. Not much to go into there but Clark said when they do the next inspection, I can go.

My first interior dam I visited was Hoover Dam in 2005. It was nice but a disappointment in that 3-1/2 years after 9/11, the lower portion was closed off. I only got to see the turbines from an observation deck.

hoover001

This was a quick looksy – “Alright people, back on the elevators.”

hoover004

Up on top.

hoover002

One side of the dam…

hoover006

to the other.

hoover003

Intake structures – actually more impressive than the one at Liberty!

hoover005

Reservoir getting low…and yet they are still building new homes in the area.

In 2013 I was able to go into Prettyboy Dam.

Looking down from the top.

What I like about this view are the memories of my father taking me down to the bottom – concrete slab – to go fishing.

We had to go down the steps, then climb over a fence and trek down the hillside to get to the fishing spot.

Time to head to the bottom of the dam. More steps.

I was able to go out onto the deck, where the valve was spewing forth water to my right. This is one of two fountains that don’t work. Contractor said it would cost over $100k to fix. Director says no.

The 45 degree pipe is what feeds the fountains. It goes under this floor into a chamber and then into more concrete. It is collapsed there and this is why it would cost so much to fix.

Tomorrow, if the dam Gods permit, I will be going into this dam – Conowingo! This is from 2011 when most of the flood gates were opened. I just bought a new telephoto lense for my camera and wanted to see how it works…

A little too well. I hope this guy shows up again for the tour!

Health Department 1936-1937

29 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Baltimore, Health, HISTORY

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Whenever I get a break from my normal job, checking on the contractors, I continue with my research and documentation of museum archives. Today I scanned a box of 5″ x 8″ photographs that had no markings or descriptions. I gave them my own, only so I know what is in the box. Each box comes with an electronic index after scanning.

hd013a

So this guy gets worked on, sitting on a wooden chair in what appears to be a closet.

hd013

And this person gets a nice dentist office. Hmmm…wonder why?

hd075

Nurses posing. One in back right looks a little psycho to me.

hd038

Nurses posing again, this time with patients. Two of which are posing themselves. Not sure what two nurses on right are doing?

hd070

A segregated ward no doubt. In my one book from 1935-1940 I mention about the blacks having a black doctor and the whites having a white one. For posing purposes I guess these guys get white ones (or was there no black doctors then at City Hospital?)

hd046

The only caption I could think to give this photo concerns torpedo tubes or pressure cookers??

hd029

I wonder what malady this person has/had, that needs this many doctors??

hd010

A little odd. A hand wearing a ring on the desk and what looks like a nose hanging on the wall??

hd009

Bureau of Liens. Poster asks that you pay your taxes promptly

Leakin Park

05 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in art, Baltimore, Hiking, HISTORY, Photography, water history

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Visited this park the other day. Our plans for the Eastern Shore were cancelled by Hermine. It was a nice hike. Below is from the Baltimore Heritage website.

Crimea Estate at Leakin Park
By Johns Hopkins
The Crimea Estate is the former summer home of Thomas DeKay Winans, a chief engineer of the Russian Railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 19th Century. The estate features Winans’ Italianate stone mansion, Orianda, as well as a gothic chapel, a “honeymoon” cottage, and a carriage house. The architectural design is said to have been inspired by Winans’ French-Russian wife, Celeste Louise Revillon.

An early, and now often overlooked, part of the estate is called Winans Meadow in Leakin Park. This current meadow was the site of an early milling operation along the Gwynns Falls River. An iron water wheel still remains that pumped water to the Orianda mansion. Along with the water wheel, a barn, silo, smokehouse, and root cellar also tell the story of early development in West Baltimore. There is even an intriguing battlement near the meadow that is thought to be modeled after the Battle of Balaklava where the Russian stand against the British was immortalized in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”

Although Leakin Park has retained its original structures in a picturesque natural setting, it almost wasn’t so. In the 1970s, federal and city officials planned to route Interstate 70 through the park in front of the mansion and directly through the carriage house. Saved by a group of dedicated Baltimoreans, the estate remains a central element in Leakin Park. (Check Google Maps for this road – it ends right at the park. The road to nowhere)

Not mentioned in the above narrative is the fact that since 1940, 71 bodies have been found in the park. Dumping ground for west Baltimore knuckleheads. It is about 1200 acres large. Part of the Blair Witch Project was filmed here.

002

The chapel where annual herb festivals are held.

007

Part of the ‘Art in the Park’ collection. Mr Keebler’s house.

009

Sometimes nature creates her own art.

013Shrooms.

014

Clay art.

024

Big scary squirrel.

028

Spider-woman.

033

Nice little walkway to the next trail down.

044

Fort remnants.

047

Through the doorway, fireplace.

051

Windows to its soul.

054

Looks like a place to keep your black powder.

057

Interior of bunker.

069

The water wheel. It is unbelievable how far up the hill this had to pump water – to the mansion.

073

Water works. (I have to mention something about water since that is what my blog is supposed to be about) (It smelled like sewage here. I read that during the last storm, 850,000? gallons of sewage was dumped into the Gwynn’s Falls – controlled dump?)

083

Trails were marked pretty good.

090

Kathy and I stood and stared at this for a while. No clue. It is on cables and has a trap door with hooks. Torture item? Remnant from filming Blair Witch?

099Man made art…

108

Nature made art.

114

The old carriage house.

117

Pole dancing crab

118

Honeymoon cottage.

125

Art.

126

Mansion.

135

Nice.

Somedays…

02 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by in Photography, Reservoir, water history, Work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

…I just love my job. I love that I get to see and do the things I do – research! Headed up to Liberty Dam to look for some shaft openings, to do a possible tunnel inspection sometime in the future. While waiting for my tour guides, I roamed around a bit and took some photographs of the property.

P1070328

 This looks like the old hut the engineers used when building the Ashburton plant.

P1070326

Blue highlights on this contraption.

P1070330

Ha! A charm of finches. (Why aren’t seagulls really a flock? They are a colony. And what about turkeys? A rafter??)

P1070336

Getting a little bored here.

P1070344

Yes! First stop, the intake structure!

P1070350

Liberty Road bridge. I asked about kayaking here – need a permit and a 12′ kayak. Mine is 10′.

P1070352 (2)

I like the glass block.

P1070356

The valves. Looking for an opening to enter the conduit to Baltimore, for the inspection.

P1070391

Done at the intake, headed to the dam.

P1070389

Art deco?

P1070369

Damn! I thought there was going to be an escalator or an elevator to get to the bottom!

P1070373

Heading down. Does anyone else have a problem photographing with LED lights?

P1070377

Looking up from the bottom. No matter if I used a flash or not, the LEDs were too bright.

P1070381

Another view. Different light.

P1070384

This is dead center at the bottom. It was a relief opening when they built the dam.

Lib007

As can be seen here during construction – the relief opening.

Susquehanna revisited

28 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in HISTORY, Photography, water history

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Back in 2013 I wrote about the Susquehanna River. More specifically on the droughts and the need for Baltimore to withdraw water from the river. This is done through the intake structures above the Conowingo Dam.

During the research for my water history book, I read the various water engineering reports concerning the need for alternate water sources. The Susquehanna came up quite a few times. In one of the reports it was mentioned that there were 13 – 16 various sewage plants along the river. After the drought of 2010 and our using the Susquehanna River as a source of water, I decided to take a field trip to see this river.

I started in 2011 and it took a while to be able to hike and drive along the river. It is 444 miles long (Depending on who you ask), from Cooperstown NY to Havre de Grace Md. No, I did not walk and drive the whole way in one outing. I would drive to a town or just outside it, get out and start hiking for a few miles, up one side and down the other. I would head back to Baltimore then a couple weeks later, ride to the next town until I got far enough north, I just drove all the way to Cooperstown and started hiking/driving south. Climbing under bridges over train tracks and thru some strange parts of towns, hearing a variety of stories about the river. I visited such communities and areas as Goodyear Lake, Binghamton, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, Three Mile Island, Columbia, Turkey Hill, etc.

I was going to do a photo-journal book about my travels but sometimes life gets in the way and I just never had a chance to finish the book. There are two excellent books on the Susquehanna that I wish I read before I started my travels – Susquehanna: River of Dreams and Down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake.

Today, Kathy and I visited Havre de Grace. Always an adventure!

P1070273

Part of the Susquehanna Locks. While hiking through here years ago, I came across a lot of these, mostly hidden and grown over.

P1070275

Lock House – who has a key to the lock house?

P1070286

Rte 40 Hatem Bridge, old RR bridge and Interstate 95.

P1070288And yes, there is a boat – kayak ramp!

P1070296

Always alone, but never alone…

P1070299

This guys head just bobbed up and down with the ripples of tide

P1070302

Me: Oh look, an 1812 candle holder! Kathy: It’s a corn cob holder for the squirrels. I knew that!

P1070308 (2)

The pier.

P1070313

It a piers that part of the pier is missing.

P1070314

Concord Point lighthouse.

P1070315

Some history

P1070319 (2)

As many photographs that I have taken of this, I just always liked it in black and white

Dam Jam II

23 Tuesday Aug 2016

Posted by in HISTORY, Reservoir, water history

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Nice day for a hike thru Cromwell Valley Park. Always like listening to these guys speak on the history. Learn something new every time. The volunteers here are a great group of people who deserve a lot more credit than they get.

015

View from the observation deck on top of the dam. Water level is dropping again.

056

First stop was the restored lime kilns. Big difference since 2006. Nice turnout for a history talk.

079

The balancing reservoir. See last post for when it was still in use…